New Adcom GFA-555 se - Special Edition

I bought one used off agon as a fill in while my Proceed HPA2 was in the shop.... had to die when they where moving the factory so I had PLENTY of time with the Adcom.

Wasn't too bad at all considering I paid about what the tax was on the proceed to purchase the Adcom used. My brother had it for another 3 years powered up all the time, no issues. Co-worker now has it in his system.

My pair of 555se's came in - have a few hours in listening to them ( mostly driving the B&W 801/s-80's). Initial impression : 1.) despite being prejudiced in favor of balanced lines - the balaanced inputs on these do not sound good in my system.Very "trazitory" high end -not pleasant.Changed to the unbalanced inputs and all is well -very nice detailed highs and midds - no fatigue - what a modern transitor amp should do.
2.) Compared it with a Parasound A-23 I ussed to own. Very similar character - but the Parasound had a little more contol or grip in the bottom end when comparing stereo amps. Once the 555se's where run bridged - they did win the bass race.
3.) After a couple of hours pushing the not exactly efficient 801 series 80's to as loud as i want to go - both 555se's run bridged where surprisingly cool. Pretty clearly these are not running class A for more than a few watts.
4.) Nice amps - well made/assembled. Fit and finish are definitely up to par.As a tube guy - I am surprised how many really listenable transistor amps are popping up at reasonable prices.

Stonedeaf,
As you know amps characteristics change many times through the breaking in process as the electronics settle in. I'd like your impression w/ balanced and RCAs after many weeks have gone by. During the night time hours and while at work use the various inputs (including balanced) playing a tuner through it at low volume. Do this for many weeks and change to dynamic cds later on. Do this with all the inputs and let us know after 3 wks of non stop running in. You will hear a noticeable sound improvement. Looking to hear your results.

Picked up one of these amps last week to match a pair of used KEF C20's I just picked up which need a high power/high current amp. My EL-34 tube amp just didn't match up well. After some hours of listening I'm pretty impressed. For a moderate cost solid state amp, it's pretty good and it sounds like it's got a lot left even at fairly loud volume. Not as transparent or "musical" as a good tube amp, but definitely not fatigue inducing either, and the bass is better, especially on the KEFs.

Mjcmt: It's not a class A amp. It runs pretty much stone cold at idle, and I've only gotten it a bit warm to the touch at the highest volume I'm inclined to listen at. Perhaps the marketing dept. did not understand basic amp classes and meant it was "Grade A" ???

Jim W.

Jim,
Good to read about you positive assessment of the SE version. Keep us informed as it breaks in.
Thinking about the Class A rating, the amp could also have a Class A input stage then AB after that.